Shabana Azmi says Javed Akhtar was a happier person after his split with Salim Khan: 'He was moving into...'

Salim-Javed, consisting of Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar, were an iconic screenwriting duo in the 1970s. They wrote multiple blockbusters such as Zanjeer, Yaadon Ki Baaraat, Deewaar, Sholay, Trishul, Don, and Mr. India among others. The duo split up in the early 1980s, after which Javed Akhtar started writing lyrics for Bollywood songs.

In a recent interview, Javed Akhtar's wife Shabana Azmi was asked about their split. Talking to Arbaaz Khan on his chat show The Invincibles, the multiple National Award-winning actress said, "Till today I do not know why Salim Javed have split. I did not get involved since I thought it was a personal decision. But I think what was happening was that he (Javed) was going through some change. He had started writing poetry, he was moving into another kind of world. I don’t know what happened and why they ever split. But I do know he was a happier person having taken this huge risk. There is no merit or demerit from my end."

In an interview earlier this year, Javed Akhtar shared that their split wasn't because of money or credit issues. He told Mojo Story, "We did not fight, there was no issue about credit, there was never any issue about money, there was nothing. We just grew apart. One realised that relationship is no longer there, that we now don’t sit together in the evening, we have our own set of friends. Gradually that happened and the rapport weakened, and it was reflecting on our work also."

Apart from writing many hits, Salim-Javed were also responsible for Amitabh Bachchan's stardom after Zanjeer. Salim Khan had conceived the "Angry Young Man" persona of the actor, and the duo often wrote scripts with Bachchan in their mind and insisted the makers to cast him in the lead role.

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